Computer device and evaluation control method

ABSTRACT

A computer device determines operation inputs one by one when a reference operation requesting successive inputs is presented. The computer device recognizes an inheritance condition is satisfied when a change in acceleration measured by an inertial sensor of a game controller appears at successive vertical movement of the controller. When recognizing that the inheritance condition is satisfied, the computer device can reduce a process load by limiting operation input determination to determination based on a change in acceleration. In addition, when recognizing that the inheritance condition is satisfied, the computer device can further reduce a process load by simplifying the process of type discrimination of the operation input through inheritance of the previous discrimination result.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/JP2018/043834, having an international filing date of Nov. 28,2018, which designated the United States, the entirety of which isincorporated herein by reference. Japanese Patent Application No.2017-254824 filed on Dec. 28, 2017 is also incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

There has been developed and commercialized a technique for evaluatingan input timing at which an operation input has been performed, forexample, as one of gaming techniques. For example, games in a genrecalled music game, musical performance game, rhythm game, or the like(hereinafter, collectively called “music games”) are a typical exampleof timing games to enjoy while correctly performing an instructedoperation (reference operation: an operation input required to theplayer) at a predetermined timing (reference timing: target timing)accordance with the rhythm of music replayed. The player can enjoy thegame by operation inputs in the rhythm with his/her selected andpreferred music as BGM. Thus, this game is popular in not only a singleplay mode in which one player performs gameplay but also a multi-playmode in which a plurality of players cooperate with or fight againsteach other.

There have been proposed various techniques for enhancing interestingaspects of music games. For example, Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication No. 2016-10646 discloses a technique foraccepting a selection of game media such as a character and an item tobe used at the game, changing a timing gauge (evaluation criteria ofreference timing displayed in a gauge) in accordance with the state ofthe selected game medium, and evaluating an operation input based on thechanged timing gauge, thereby to improve the interesting aspect of themusic game.

Meanwhile, stationary consumer game apparatuses or portable game devicesinclude an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor in a game controller,which measures the action of swinging the game controller so as to usein an operation input at the game.

For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2008-36167 discloses a technique for identifying an operation ofswinging the game controller in the air and an operation of applying ashock to the game controller, focusing on a difference in accelerationat a timing at which the increasing and decreasing directions of theacceleration value are reversed.

The music game is said to be a game in which latency or response of anoperation input is extremely strict. That is, if there is a differencebetween a timing at which the player thinks he/she has performed anoperation input and a timing at which the operation input is reflectedin the game and an operation sound is emitted, the player's feeling ofplaying the music will be greatly hurt.

For example, a dedicated game device is prepared for arcade music gameswhere percussion performance is a motif. The arcade game devicephysically has sticks for percussion performance and a part to be tapped(tapped part) by the sticks and is configured to physically measure tapson the tapped part by a switch or the like, and is designed such thatthe timing difference as described above does not become a problem.

However, when the same music game is executed at the game device havinga game controller equipped with an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor,the timing difference as described above may be clearly felt as theplayer's body sensation.

That is, the player plays the game by gripping the game controller andswinging down the game controller as sticks for percussion performanceonto the tapped part that does not physically exist. At this time, inorder to reproduce the feeling of tapping by himself/herself, the playerdoes not completely swing down the game controller but operates the gamecontroller to stop on a virtual tapped surface of the tapped part thatdoes not physically exist.

Thus, it is natural to design the program such that a timing at whichthe game controller actually stops (or substantially stops) isdetermined from the measurement value from the acceleration sensor orthe gyro sensor and this timing is determined as an operation inputtiming. In many cases, however, the player feels that there is adifference between the timing at which the player thinks “he/she hastapped the virtual tapped surface” and the timing at which the gamecontroller actually stops.

The acceleration sensor and gyro sensor used in the game controller ofmass-market portable game devices and stationary consumer gameapparatuses are relatively inexpensive sensors and thus have a problemof low measurement accuracy and low resolution that makes theaccumulated error from a zero point likely to become large. Therefore,the timing difference as described above tends to be further large,which makes it difficult to solve the timing difference problem.

The problem of a larger timing difference will lead to a reduction inresolution at the time of type discrimination among a plurality ofoperation inputs. For example, at a timing game the player plays bymixing a plurality of types of actions of swinging and stopping the gamecontroller in the air, there is a possibility that the types ofoperation inputs that were successively performed in a short time cannotbe correctly discriminated so that the player cannot gain a scorealthough he/she did not make a mistake. One of factors behind such areduction in resolution is a large process load because manycalculations are required to suppress a timing difference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a configuration example of a game device towhich a game controller is detachably attached.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the game device from which the gamecontroller is detached.

FIG. 3 is a diagram describing a game content, which illustrates adisplay example on a game screen.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating examples of types of referenceoperations,

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for describing determination of an inputtiming for single motion,

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for describing determination of an inputtiming for successive motion.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram for describing discrimination of inputtype of an operation input in a don-ka pattern.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram for describing discrimination of inputtype of an operation input in a ka-ka pattern.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram for describing discrimination of inputtype of an operation input in a ka-don pattern.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example on an operationscreen related to setting of an adjustment time.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of results of inputtiming determination and input type discrimination on the game screen.

FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functionalconfiguration example of the game device.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of programs and data storedin a storage section.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of playdata.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a process performed by the game device.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an input determination process.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a type discrimination process.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of display on a settingscreen that accepts a setting operation of level of successive tappinginput determination.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of playdata where a setting operation of level of successive tapping inputdetermination is acceptable.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, orexamples, for implementing different features of the provided subjectmatter. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to belimiting. In addition, the disclosure may repeat reference numeralsand/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for thepurpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate arelationship between the various embodiments and/or configurationsdiscussed. Further, when a first element is described as being“connected” or “coupled” to a second element, such description includesembodiments in which the first and second elements are directlyconnected or coupled to each other, and also includes embodiments inwhich the first and second elements are indirectly connected or coupledto each other with one or more other intervening elements in between.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, there is provided a computerdevice comprising:

at least one processor or circuit programmed to perform:

presenting a reference timing and a type of a reference operation to beperformed at the reference timing, the reference timing being a timingat which a player is supposed to perform a motion of swinging andstopping a controller containing an inertial sensor;

determining an input timing by detecting that a measurement value of theinertial sensor has satisfied a given input determination condition; and

discriminating a type of an operation input at the input timing based onthe measurement value, wherein

the discriminating the type of the operation input includes inheritingthe type of an operation input previously discriminated when themeasurement value satisfies a given inheritance condition.

According to this aspect, it is possible to inherit the result of thelatest discrimination if the measurement value of the inertial sensorsatisfies the inheritance condition. That is, it is possible to reduce aprocess load by simplification of the calculation process required forthe type discrimination.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, there is provided thecomputer device, wherein the inheritance condition may include at leasta condition that same type of the successive reference operations arepresented.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, there is provided thecomputer device, wherein

the presenting may include presenting the reference timing as aninstantaneous timing or a time range, and

the inheritance condition may include at least a condition that thereference timing is presented as the time range.

As a result, in some embodiments, it is possible to determine whetherthe inheritance condition is satisfied in a scene where successiveinputs are required. That is, it is possible to reduce a process load atthe determination of successive operation inputs.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, there is provided thecomputer device, wherein

the controller may have a plurality of operation buttons arranged on afront side and has a longitudinal shape that is capable of being grippedand held by one hand,

the inertial sensor may measure at least a first acceleration along afirst axis in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of thecontroller and a front normal direction of the controller, and

the inheritance condition may include at least a condition based on thefirst acceleration.

As a result, in some embodiments, the inheritance of the typediscrimination can be applied to the motion of swinging in the firstaxis direction the controller in a longitudinal shape that has aplurality of operation buttons arranged on the front side and is capableof being gripped and held by one hand. For example, the inheritance ofthe discrimination result is to be applied to successive actions ofgripping the controller as if gripping drumsticks and tapping the air asif tapping a drum by the drumsticks. Thus, the inheritance of thediscrimination result is applicable to a natural input mode.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, there is provided thecomputer device, wherein the inheritance condition may include at leasta condition that, after magnitude of the first acceleration exceeds agiven first threshold, increasing and decreasing tendencies of the firstacceleration are reversed, and the magnitude of the first accelerationafter the reversal exceeds a given second threshold.

As a result, in some embodiments, it is possible to determine that theinheritance condition is satisfied when the player swings up and downthe controller and the momentum of this action exceeds the secondthreshold.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, there is provided thecomputer device, wherein

the inertial sensor may measure, besides the first acceleration, athree-dimensional acceleration by measuring an acceleration in thelongitudinal direction of the controller and an acceleration in thefront normal direction of the controller,

the first threshold may be a threshold based on an average of magnitudesof the three-dimensional acceleration for a predetermined past time, and

the second threshold may be a threshold based on an average ofmagnitudes of the three-dimensional acceleration for a predeterminedpast time.

As a result, in some embodiments, it is possible to accurately identifywhether the player made a mere unintentional motion while gripping thecontroller or the player made an intentional action of swinging thecontroller. That is, it is possible to prevent wrong execution ofinheritance of the discrimination result.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, the computer device maycomprise at least one processor or circuit further programmed to performadjusting the first threshold and/or the second threshold based on anoperation input of the player.

As a result, in some embodiments, the player can adjust the inheritancecondition.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, there is provided thecomputer device, wherein determining the input timing may includedetermining the input timing based on, instead of the inputdetermination condition, a second input determination condition that iseasier to satisfy than the input determination condition when themeasurement value satisfies the inheritance condition.

As a result, in some embodiments, while the inheritance of thediscrimination result is applied, the determination of the operationinput is facilitated so that successive operation inputs can be easilyperformed. The successive inputs are prominent among operation inputs,and tactfully performing the successive inputs is an important elementfor enhancing the satisfaction of the gameplay. Accordingly, the effectof enhancing the player's satisfaction at the game can be expected.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, there is provided thecomputer device, wherein the determining the input timing may includedetermining a timing at which, instead of the input determinationcondition, a third input determination condition based on the firstacceleration is satisfied as the input timing when the measurement valuesatisfies the inheritance condition.

As a result, in some embodiments, the input timing can be determinedbased on the first acceleration.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, there is provided thecomputer device, wherein the determining the input timing may includedetermining a timing at which, instead of the input determinationcondition, a third input determination condition based on the firstacceleration is satisfied as the input timing when the measurement valuesatisfies the inheritance condition.

At a game where a motion of swinging and stopping the controller by handis set as an operation input, the operation input may be an action oftapping a virtual tapped body not existing in reality, for example. Inthis case, the player naturally damps the motion of the controller atthe end of the motion as if reproducing a scene where the tapping toolhits against the tapped body and then stops at the timing at which theplayer thinks he/she has tapped the tapped body. In actuality, however,in many cases, the movement of the controller stops later than thetiming at which the player thinks he/she has tapped the tapped body.This is because it takes time, although it is short, until thecontroller actually stops due to influence of inertia. Therefore,setting the input timing to the timing at which the movement of thecontroller has stopped as a timing at which the motion has been endedcauses a timing difference from the timing at which the player thinkshe/she has tapped, thereby producing a sense of retardation.

Thus, as a result of re-analysis of the entire motion, it has beendiscovered that a peak of measurement value appeared at a point of timenear the timing at which the player thinks he/she has tapped. The peakof the measurement value appearing before the stop of the motion isdetected by sensing a decreasing tendency of the magnitude of the firstacceleration so that the input timing can be determined based on thepeak. Therefore, at a game where the action of swinging and stopping thecontroller is regarded as an operation input, it is possible todetermine an operation input timing that is close to the player'ssensation without a feel of discomfort.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, the computer device maycomprise at least one processor or circuit further programmed to performnotifying that an operation input satisfying the inheritance conditionis being performed.

As a result, in some embodiments, it is possible to notify the playerthat the operation input satisfying the inheritance condition is beingperformed.

In accordance with one of some embodiments, there is provided anevaluation control method executed by a computer device, the methodcomprising:

presenting a reference timing and a type of a reference operation to beperformed at the reference timing, the reference timing being a timingat which a player is supposed to perform a motion of swinging andstopping a controller containing an inertial sensor;

determining an input timing by detecting that a measurement value of theinertial sensor has satisfied a given input determination condition; and

discriminating a type of an operation input at the input tinting basedon the measurement value, wherein

the discriminating the type of the operation input includes inheritingthe type of an operation input previously discriminated when themeasurement value satisfies a given inheritance condition.

According to this aspect, it is possible to implement an evaluationcontrol method by which to obtain the same advantageous effects as thosein the first aspect.

Hereinafter, examples of embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed. Note that modes to which the present disclosure is applicableare not limited to the following embodiments. A game device will bedescribed as an example of the computer device. The drawings indicatecoordinate systems as appropriate for the sake of description. However,these indications merely show the directions of the coordinate axes anddo not show coordinate origin points.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a portable game device as one embodiment,which illustrates a configuration example of the game device to which agame controller is detachably attached. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustratingthe game device from which the game controller is detached.

A game device 1400 is a computer that is classified into a portable gamedevice, which is designed in consideration to portability and userconvenience. The game device 1400 includes a main body device 1401 andat least one attachable/detachable game controller 1460 (right gamecontroller 1460R and left game controller 1460L).

The main body device 1401 includes a touch panel 1406 that serves as animage display device/touch position input device, connectors 1407, abuilt-in battery 1409, a speaker 1410, and a control board 1450.Besides, the main body device 1401 includes a power button, a volumecontrol button, and others as appropriate.

The connectors 1407 are provided at the right and left ends of the mainbody device 1401 corresponding to the right game controller 1460R andthe left game controller 1460L. The connectors 1407 are connected to theconnectors of the right game controller 1460R and the left gamecontroller 1460L to implement communication between the game controllersand the main body device 1401.

The control board 1450 contains various processors such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 1451, a graphics processing unit (GPU), and adigital signal processor (DSP), various IC memories 1452 such as a VRAM,RAM, and ROM, a communication module 1453 for performing wirelesscommunication with mobile phone base stations, wireless LAN basestations, other apparatuses having short-range wireless devices, andothers, an interface circuit 1457, and others.

The interface circuit 1457 includes a driver circuit of the touch panel1406, a circuit that transmits and receives signals to and from theright game controller 1460R and the left game controller 1460L via theconnector 1407, an output amplifier circuit that outputs a sound signalto the speaker 1410, and others.

These elements included in the control board 1450 are electricallyconnected via a bus circuit or the like in a manner capable of datareading and writing and signal transmission and reception. The controlboard 1450 may be partly or entirely implemented by an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array(FPGA), or a system on a chip (SoC).

The control board 1450 has programs and various kinds of data stored inthe IC memory 1452 and implements various functions to execute the gameof the present embodiment by performing calculation processing based onthe programs and data.

The right game controller 1460R and the left game controller 1460L aredesigned for the player to grip them by each one hand. Each of the rightgame controller 1460R and the left game controller 1460L includes ajoystick 1461, a plurality of push switches 1462 as operation buttons, avibrator 1463 as a vibration generation device, a speaker 1464, aconnector 1467, a controller control board 1470, and a built-in battery(not illustrated),

The controller control board 1470 includes a controller control IC 1471that corresponds to a processor controlling the game controller, acommunication module 1473, a triaxial acceleration sensor 1475 (firstinertial sensor; acceleration sensor), a triaxial gyro sensor 1476(second inertial sensor; gyroscope), and an interface circuit 1477.

Note that the controller control board 1470 can include as appropriateelements other than the foregoing ones, such as an image sensor module,for example. Otherwise, one element can perform the function of anotherelement to omit the other element. For example, one sensor can implementthe triaxial acceleration sensor 1475 and the triaxial gyro sensor 1476,or the controller control IC 1471 and the interface circuit 1477 can beintegrated.

The communication module 1473 implements wireless communication with thecommunication module 1453 of the main body device 1401.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475 of theright game controller 1460R forms local coordinates (Xr, Yr, Zr) of theright hand. Specifically, the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475 isconfigured such that the right side facing the right game controller1460R (the right side in FIG. 2) is located in the normal direction ofthe Xr-axis, the upper side of longitudinal direction of the controller(the upper side in FIG. 2) is located in the normal direction of theYr-axis, and the side normal to the front side of the controller, thatis, the side in front of the front side of the controller (the frontside in FIG. 2) is located in the normal direction of the Zr-axis.

The triaxial gyro sensor 1476 of the right game controller 1460R formsthe local coordinates (Xr, Yr, Zr) of the right hand and is configuredto detect the angular speed of the right game controller 1460R aroundeach axis of the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475.

An attachment 1468 is attachable to the left end of the right gamecontroller 1460R to cover the connector 1467. The right game controller1460R is gripped such that the right side of the controller is held bythe thumb and ball of the user's right hand and the attachment 1468 ofthe controller is wrapped by the user's forefinger, middle finger, ringfinger, and little finger. In other words, the right game controller1460R is gripped and held by one hand such that the rear side oppositeto the front side faces the user's palm.

Similarly, the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475 of the left gamecontroller 1460L forms local coordinates (Xl, Yl, Zl) of the left hand.Specifically, the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475 is configured suchthat the left side facing the left game controller 1460L (the left sidein FIG. 2) is located in the normal direction of the Xl-axis, the upperside of longitudinal direction of the controller (the upper side in FIG.2) is located in the normal direction of the Yl-axis, and the sidenormal to the front side of the controller, that is, the side in frontof the front side of the controller (the front side in FIG. 2) islocated in the normal direction of the Zl-axis.

The triaxial gyro sensor 1476 of the left game controller 1460L formsthe local coordinates (Xl, Yl, Zl) of the left hand and is configured todetect the angular speed of the left game controller 1460L around eachaxis of the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475.

The attachment 1468 is attachable to the right end of the left gamecontroller 1460L to cover the connector 1467. The left game controller1460L is gripped such that the left side of the controller is held bythe thumb and ball of the user's left hand and the attachment 1468 ofthe controller is wrapped by the user's forefinger, middle finger, ringfinger, and little finger. In other words, the left game controller1460L is gripped and held by one hand such that the rear side oppositeto the front side faces the user's palm.

Returning to FIG. 1, the interface circuit 1477 includes a circuit forimplementing wired communication with the control board 1450 of the mainbody device 1401 via the connector 1467. The interface circuit 1477implements exchange of signals between various devices included in thecontroller (the joystick 1461, the push switches 1462, the vibrator1463, the speaker 1464, the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475, thetriaxial gyro sensor 1476, and others) and the main body device 1401.

Next, a game according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram describing a game content according to the presentembodiment, which illustrates a display example on a game screen. Thegame according to the present embodiment is one of rhythm games, whichis a music game under the theme of performance of a virtual percussioninstrument at which, while listening music emitted (replayed) from thespeaker 1410 of the main body device 1401, the player swings the rightgame controller 1460R and the left game controller 1460L to perform anoperation input in accordance with the rhythm of the music.

A player 2 grips the right game controller 1460R and the left gamecontroller 1460L as if gripping handles of virtual tapping tools of avirtual percussion instrument. Assuming that there are long sticks(although they are invisible) on the opposite side of the right gamecontroller 1460R and the left game controller 1460L and there is avirtual percussion instrument 4 (although it is invisible) in front ofthe player, the player performs an operation input by swinging down theright game controller 1460R and the left game controller 1460L as iftapping the virtual percussion instrument 4. At the game according tothe present embodiment, the virtual percussion instrument 4 is aJapanese drum that is longitudinally arranged with the drum surfacefacing the front side of the player 2 and near the waist of the player2.

When the gameplay is started, the music with which the game is to beplayed is emitted from the speaker 1410 of the main body device 1401,and a game screen W3 is displayed on the touch panel 1406.

The game screen W3 displays a lapse time display section 10 indicating alapse time from the play start, a music title 12, and a musical note 20.The design of the musical note 20 may be set as appropriate. In thepresent embodiment, the musical note 20 has a standard position 24 thatis shown on the left side of the screen, indicators 25 (25 a, 25 b) thatare displayed in a flowing manner toward the standard position 24, barlines 26, an evaluation result display part 27, and a score display part28.

The standard position 24 indicates a position as a reference for showinga reference timing (a timing for an operation input as a target). In thepresent embodiment, only one standard position 24 is displayed on onemusical note 20. Alternatively, a plurality of standard positions 24 maybe provided.

The indicators 25 are prepared in different designs according to thetype of a reference operation (a correct operation input to be performedat the reference timing). In the present embodiment, the indicators 25appear from the right side of the musical note 20 and are displayed tolinearly flow leftward to the standard position 24 together with the barlines 26. The part between the bar lines 26 indicates one bar in theplay music. The timing at which the indicator 25 overlaps the standardposition 24 is the reference timing in the present embodiment, and thetype of the overlapping indicator 25 indicates the type of the referenceoperation.

The evaluation result display part 27 displays an input evaluation basedon: 1) a difference between the reference timing and the input timing ofthe operation input; and 2) a match or non-match between the referenceoperation and the type of the operation input, where the timing at whichthe center of the indicator 25 overlaps the center line of the standardposition 24 is the reference timing and the type of the overlappingindicator 25 is reference operation. For example, a higher evaluation isgiven when there is a match between the reference operation and the typeof the operation input and the difference between the reference timingand the operation input timing is smaller.

The score display part 28 displays the accumulation of scores givenaccording to the evaluation result of the operation input.

In the present embodiment, there are a plurality of types of referenceoperations and a plurality of types of indicators 25 corresponding tothe reference operations.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the types of basic operation inputs includes:a don type typified by a don 25 a (white circle) as a first typeindicator that indicates a first type operation of tapping the drumsurface of the virtual percussion instrument 4 (Japanese drum); and a katype typified by a ka 25 b (shaded square) as a second type indicatorthat indicates a second type operation of tapping the edge of the drumsurface or the outer periphery of the trunk part of the drum.

The ways of presenting the reference timing are divided into an“instantaneous presentation type” in which the reference timing ispresented as “instantaneous timing” such as the don 25 a and the ka 25 band a “range presentation type” in which the reference timing ispresented as “time range” such as a successive don 25 c and a successiveka 25 d.

The don 25 a and the ka 25 b are basically indicators of theinstantaneous presentation type. However, successively presenting aplurality of indicators at short time intervals makes it possible topresent the same type of successive reference operations.

The successive don 25 c is an indicator of the range presentation typethat presents the same type of successive reference operations by itselfalone. That is, the first type operation is a reference operation. Thereference timing is always determined while this indicator is located atthe standard position 24. When the operation input matches the referenceoperation, the input of the successive don 25 c is given a favorableevaluation at any timing while the indicator is located at the standardposition 24. Thus, as a rule, it is possible to gain a higher score byperforming the first type operation more and more while the successivedon 25 c is located at the standard position 24. Naturally, the playeris required to perform successive operation inputs, that is, “successivetapping inputs”.

Similarly, the successive ka 25 d is an indicator that presents the sametype of successive reference operations by itself alone, which is anindicator of the range presentation type in which the second typeoperation is a reference operation. The reference timing is alwaysdetermined while the indicator is located at the standard position 24.Naturally, the player is required to perform successive inputs.

As a matter of course, the case where successive inputs are required canbe implemented by successively presenting the indicator of theinstantaneous presentation type at relatively short time intervals.

Note that reference operations and indicators of types other than theforegoing ones can be set as appropriate.

In the present embodiment, an input timing is first determined. When theinput timing is determined, the input type of the operation input isdetermined. Then, the operation input is evaluated by comparison of thedetermined input timing and operation input type with the referencetiming and reference operation presented on the musical note 20 at thattime.

First, a principle of the input timing determination according to thepresent embodiment will be described.

Whether the first type operation (don) or the second type operation(ka), the motion of the player 2 includes three successive actions: a“swing-up action” and a “swing-down action” like tapping a drum withdrumsticks, and a “damping action of stopping the drumsticks at acomplete swing-down position Ps that is regarded as the drum surface ofthe virtual percussion instrument 4” because it is virtual percussionperformance.

Focusing on more details, the player's motion can be classified into themotion of tapping with the snap of the wrists involving the angularspeed of the wrists and the motion of tapping with the wrists lessturned and almost fixed. The former motion is frequently seen inintermittent and single tapping and the later motion is frequently seenin successively repeated tapping for a short time. Thus, the former willbe called “single motion” and the latter will be called “successivemotion”.

First, the determination of an input timing in the single motion will bedescribed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for describing the determination of an input timingfor the single motion. Herein, the description will be given taking theleft game controller 1460L as an example. However, the same descriptionis applicable to the right game controller 1460R by replacing localcoordinates of the left hand with local coordinates of the right hand.

Further focusing on changes in the posture of the left game controller1460L, the single motion includes starts of the three actionsconstituting the motion and transfers to the three actions. In thepresent embodiment, based on changes in angular speed ωz around aZl-axis measured by the triaxial gyro sensor 1476, the single motion ofthe first type operation is correctly identified to properly determinethe input timing.

Specifically, first, when the absolute value of the angular speed ωzaround a Z-axis measured by the triaxial gyro sensor 1476 exceeds apredetermined swing-up start determination criteria angular speed valueωm, it is determined that the “swing-up action” has been started. Theangular speed ωz in this case indicates rotation in a minus direction inthe left-hand coordinate system. Thus, when the absolute value of theangular speed ωz falls under a predetermined minus standard valueequivalent to the swing-up start determination criteria angular speedvalue ωm, it can be determined that the swing-up action has beenstarted.

Next, After the swing-up action has been started, when it is detectedthat the angular speed ωz around the Zl-axis is reversed between thepositive and negative directions, it is determined that switching fromthe swing-up action to the swing-down action has taken place. In otherwords, it is determined that the swing-down action has been startedsuccessively from the swing-up action. This will be called “premisedetermination”. In the presence of the premise determination, it ispossible to prevent erroneous determination by excluding unconsciousactions other than operation inputs, such as rotating the wrists torelieve wrist tension, for example.

After the premise determination, when the absolute value of the angularspeed ωz around the Zl-axis has reached a predetermined requiredmomentum determination criteria angular speed ωf, it is determined thatthe player is intentionally performing the swing-down action as thesingle motion of the first type operation. This makes it possible todiscriminate between the player's action of merely lowering the handswith fatigue and the player's swing-down action. The angular speed ωz atthis time indicates rotation in a plus direction in the left-handcoordinate system. Thus, when the angular speed ωz has reached apredetermined plus threshold equivalent to the required momentumdetermination criteria angular speed ωf, it can be determined that theplayer is performing the swing-down action.

In the present embodiment, at the timing at which the required momentumdetermination criteria angular speed ωf has been reached, the vibrator1463 of the left game controller 1460L generates vibration. Vibrationstrength Amp is set in proportion to the angular speed ωz measured atthat time so that the player can feel like as if the virtual stick-typetapping tools make wind noise by performing the swing-down action. Thiswill be called “wind noise effect vibration”.

Then, when a temporal change Δ|ωz| of the absolute value of the angularspeed ωz around the Z-axis measured by the triaxial gyro sensor 1476becomes negative during the swing-down action, it is determined that theplayer has started the damping action. Shift of the temporal change ofthe absolute value of the angular speed ωz from positive value tonegative value means that the absolute value of the angular speed ωzchanges from an increasing tendency to a decreasing tendency. Thus, thepeak of the absolute value of the angular speed ωz is determined. Inother words, the peak of the measurement value that appears immediatelybefore the player stops the single motion is detected. Upon detection ofthis peak, it is determined that the damping action has been started. Inthe present embodiment, basically, this determined timing is regarded asthe input timing of the single motion.

However, even after the start of the damping action, the left hand andthe left game controller 1460L actually reach the lower swing-downposition Ps, that is, the position where the player imagines he/she hastapped the surface or its edge of the virtual percussion instrument 4 ora further lower position due to the momentum of the swing-down action(inertia).

In the present embodiment, at the input timing of the single motion, thevibrator 1463 of the left game controller 1460L generates input effectvibration. The “input effect vibration” is vibration for reproducing thefeel of the virtual tapping tools hitting the surface or its edge of thevirtual percussion instrument 4. Basically, different vibrations aregenerated in accordance with the discrimination result of the type ofthe operation input. In the present embodiment, the input effectvibration also serves as “evaluation result notification vibration” thatnotifies the evaluation result. That is, the vibration is generated at avibration strength and in a vibration pattern in accordance with theevaluation result of the operation input.

Either the wind noise effect vibration or the input effect vibration canbe omitted.

Next, determination on the input timing in the successive motion will bedescribed.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for describing determination of an inputtiming for the successive motion. Herein, the description will be giventaking the left game controller 1460L as an example. However, the samedescription is applicable to the right game controller 1460R byreplacing local coordinates of the left hand with local coordinates ofthe right hand.

The successive motion is performed with the wrists at almost constantpositions and thus cannot be identified based on the posture changeunlike in the case of the single motion. Accordingly, the successivemotion is correctly identified to appropriately determine the inputtiming based on changes in the acceleration measured by the triaxialacceleration sensor 1475 of the left game controller 1460L.

Specifically, the player grips and operates the left game controller1460L while putting the ball of the thumb on the left end of thecontroller facing upward. Then, when an acceleration Ax along theXl-axis measured by the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475 exceeds afirst threshold obtained by adding a predetermined swing-up startdetermination criteria coefficient k1 to an average acceleration Ax_avethat is an average value of the past accelerations Ax, it is determinedthat the player has started the “swing-up action”.

The average acceleration Ax_ave is an average value of accelerationsmeasured about 10 to 15 times by the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475.Although depending on the specifications of the sensor used, themeasurement cycle can be a relatively slow cycle of about 4 to 6 ms onthe whole.

Then, when it is detected that an acceleration Ax@t at time t has becomesmaller than an acceleration Ax@t−1 measured in the previous measurementcycle, that is, when it is detected that the increasing and decreasingtendencies have been reversed, it is determined that the player is aboutto end the swing-up action and will shift to the swing-down action soon.This determination corresponds to the premise determination in thesuccessive motion.

After the premise determination, when the player shifts to theswing-down action, the acceleration Ax along the Xl-axis is measured ata negative value. Accordingly, when the acceleration Ax along theXl-axis falls under a second threshold obtained by adding apredetermined confirmed determination criteria coefficient k2 to theaverage acceleration Ax_ave, it is determined that the player isintentionally performing the swing-down action in the successive motion.This makes it possible to discriminate between the player's action ofmerely lowering the hands with fatigue and the player's swing-downaction. In the successive motion as well, the “wind noise effectvibration” is generated.

Then, the player shifts from the swing-down action to the dampingaction. At that time, the value of the acceleration Ax along the Xl-axismeasured by the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475 increases from thenegative value toward “0” along with the deceleration.

Therefore, when it is detected that to acceleration Ax@t at time t hasbecome larger than the acceleration Ax@t−1 measured in the previousmeasurement cycle, that is, when it is detected that the increasing anddecreasing tendencies have been reversed, it is determined that theplayer has started the damping action. In other words, when the peak ofthe measurement value that appears immediately before the player stopsthe successive motion is detected, it is determined that the player hasstarted the damping action.

In the present embodiment, basically, this determined timing is regardedas the input timing of the successive motion.

However, even after the start of the damping action, the left hand andthe left game controller 1460L actually reach the lower swing-downposition Ps, that is, the position where the player imagines he/she hastapped the surface or its edge of the virtual percussion instrument 4 ora further lower position due to the momentum of the swing-down action(inertia).

Also, when the input timing of the successive motion has beendetermined, the vibrator 1463 of the left game controller 1460Lgenerates the input effect vibration.

There may be an additional condition to be satisfied for thedetermination of an input timing that the total of the absolute valuesof accelerations measured along all the three axes is equal to orgreater than a predetermined value. Providing the additional conditionmakes it possible to correctly determine the input timing even if theplayer is prone to bend his/her wrists during the swing-down action atthe input timing.

Conventionally, the input timing is considered as a timing at which thevalue measured by the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475 or the triaxialgyro sensor 1476 of the left game controller 1460L has reached a valuewith which it is determined that the game controller has stopped.However, the player feels a sense of discomfort because there is adifference between the timing at which the player thinks “he/she hasjust tapped the virtual tapped surface” and the timing at which the gamecontroller has actually stopped.

In the present embodiment, however, it is possible to detect, as theinput timing, the player's action of starting to damp the swing-down ofhis/her wrists at the timing at which he/she thinks “he/she has tappedthe virtual tapped surface” or its close timing, thereby to determinethe input timing matching the player's sensation.

Next, type discrimination of an operation input will be described.

Focusing on how to swing the hands down, the motions of the first typeoperation (don) and the second type operation (ka) can be said to berespectively vertical swing-down motion in which the player swings downhis/her hands in a vertical direction and curved swing-down motion inwhich the player swings down his/her hands in a curve.

Further, focusing on the motion of the second type operation (ka), thereare a pattern of performing the second type operation following thefirst type operation (don-ka pattern) and a pattern of repeating thesecond type operation (ka-ka pattern). In reverse, there is also apattern of performing the first type operation following the second typeoperation (ka-don pattern).

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram for describing discrimination of inputtype of an operation input in the don-ka pattern. Herein, thedescription will be given taking the left game controller 1460L as anexample. However, the same description is applicable to the right gamecontroller 1460R by replacing local coordinates of the left hand withlocal coordinates of the right hand.

Focusing on the track of the left game controller 1460L in the don-kapattern, the player swings up the left game controller 1460L outward inthe swing-up action. When being viewed from the player's front side, thetrack of the swing-up action goes obliquely upward. Then, the playerperforms the swing-down action with the snap of his/her wrist.

In other words, focusing on the posture of the left game controller1460L, the left game controller 1460L is on its side (the left side inFIG. 7) with the Zl-axis facing the player at the end of the swing-upaction and with the Yl-axis facing upward. Through the swing-downaction, the Zl-axis changes to face obliquely upward and then facesubstantially just above, and the Yl-axis changes to face in front ofthe player. That is, the left game controller 1460L rotates around theYl-axis. This motion does not appear in the motion of the first typeoperation (don) described above.

Thus, when the absolute value of an angular speed ωx around the Xl-axismeasured by the triaxial gyro sensor 1476 of the left game controller1460L exceeds a predetermined third determination criteria value k3 andthe absolute value of an average angular speed ωx_ave as the averagevalue of the angular speed ωx exceeds a predetermined fourthdetermination criteria value k4, it is determined that the player hasinput the second type operation (ka).

The angular speed ωx at this time is measured in a minus value in theleft-hand local coordinate system. Thus, when the angular speed ωxreaches a predetermined minus threshold equivalent to the thirddetermination criteria value k3 and the average angular speed ωx_avereaches a minus threshold equivalent to the fourth determinationcriteria value k4, it can be determined that the player has input thesecond type operation (ka).

The average angular speed ωx_ave is an average value of angular speedsmeasured about 10 to 15 times by the triaxial gyro sensor 1476. Althoughdepending on the specifications of the sensor used, the measurementcycle can be a relatively slow cycle of about 4 to 6 ms on the whole.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram for describing discrimination of inputtype of an operation input in the ka-ka pattern. Herein, the descriptionwill be given taking the left game controller 1460L as an example.However, the same description is applicable to the right game controller1460R by replacing local coordinates of the left hand with localcoordinates of the right hand.

Focusing on the track of the left game controller 1460L in the ka-kapattern, the front direction of the left game controller 1460L (thenormal direction of the Zl-axis) is kept obliquely upward. This obliquemovement in the oblique posture does not appear in the motion of thefirst type operation (don) described above.

Thus, when the ratio between the absolute value of the averageacceleration Ax_ave along the Xl-axis measured by the triaxialacceleration sensor 1475 of the left game controller 1460L and theabsolute value of an average acceleration Az_ave along the Zl-axis isequal to or less than a predetermined fifth determination criteria valuek5, it is determined that the player has input the second type operation(ka).

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram for describing discrimination of inputtype of an operation input in the ka-don pattern. Herein, thedescription will be given taking the left game controller 1460L as anexample. However, the same description is applicable to the right gamecontroller 1460R by replacing local coordinates of the left hand withlocal coordinates of the right hand.

The input start position of the second type operation (ka) is moreoutside than the input start position of the first type operation (don).In addition, the input start position of the first type operation ishigher in many cases. Thus, focusing on the track of the left gamecontroller 1460L in the ka-don pattern, the motion of the left gamecontroller 1460L includes the movement in the front normal direction ofthe controller.

Thus, when the average acceleration Az_ave along the Zl-axis measured bythe triaxial acceleration sensor 1475 of the left game controller 1460Lexceeds a predetermined sixth determination criteria value k6, it isdetermined that the player has input the first type operation (don).

In the present embodiment, except for the input type discrimination bythese three patterns, all the inputs are discriminated as the first typeoperation (don).

The input timing determination described above and the input typediscrimination make it possible to correctly identify a plurality oftypes of intermixed operation inputs while appropriately determiningsensory input timings at which the player thinks he/she has tapped thedrum.

The basic input determination can be implemented by the input timingdetermination and the input type discrimination. However, the ways ofrotating the arms and bending the wrists in the swing-up action and theswing-down action might not be the same as described above. For someplayers, there may occur a slight difference between the input timing atwhich the player thinks he/she has tapped the drum and the input timingdetermined by the method described above.

Thus, in the present embodiment, there is prepared a timing adjustmentfunction of setting an adjustment time related to determination of aninput timing.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example on an operationscreen related to setting of the adjustment time. For setting theadjustment time, an adjustment screen W10 is displayed on the touchpanel 1406. The adjustment screen W10 includes instructions 32 foradjustment procedure, an adjustment operation part 34, and variousoperation icons 36 (36 a, 36 b, . . . ). The design of the adjustmentoperation part 34 may be set as appropriate. In the present embodiment,the adjustment operation part 34 is designed such that a setting bar 34a is to be moved by a touch & slide operation.

At timing adjustment, when the player performs the first type operationas a trial, an operation sound is emitted at a timing after a lapse ofan initial adjustment time from the input timing. The player operatesthe adjustment operation part 34 to minimize a difference between thetiming he/she imagines and the timing at which the operation sound isemitted. Then, the result of the timing adjustment is stored as anapplied adjustment time in the IC memory 1452 or the like and will beapplied to the subsequent determination of an input timing. Theadjustment can be basically made only to delay the timing. However,presetting a value larger than 0 as the initial adjustment time anddecreasing the initial adjustment time to be closer to 0 makes itpossible to make pseudo-adjustment of accelerating the determination ofan input timing.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of results of inputtiming determination and input type discrimination on the game screen.

The input timing is notified at the evaluation result display part 27 onthe game screen during gameplay. Specifically, the input timing isdetermined and the display mode of the frame for the evaluation result(design elements such as display color, line thickness, and the presenceor absence of shadow) is temporarily changed from a standard mode 27 sto a notification mode 27 h. In the example of FIG. 11, the notificationmode is shown with emphasized outlines.

In addition, together with the input timing, the input typediscrimination result of the operation input is notified on the gamescreen. For example, when it is determined that the player has performedthe first type operation (don), a type notification marker 40 istemporarily added to the upper side of the evaluation result displaypart 27. When it is determined that the player has performed the secondtype operation (ka) by the right game controller 1460R, the typenotification marker 40 is temporarily added to the right side of theevaluation result display part 27. When it is determined that the playerhas performed the second type operation (ka) by the left game controller1460L, the type notification marker 40 is temporarily added to the leftside of the evaluation result display part 27.

In the present embodiment, it can also be said that the display mode ofthe type notification marker 40 (for example, the shape and displaycolor of the marker, the presence or absence of blinking, and the like)is changed whether the input timing to be evaluated has been determinedusing acceleration or using angular speed, thereby notifying which ofthe determination methods were used. Specifically, when the input timinghas been determined using acceleration, the display color is white, andwhen the input timing has been determined using angular speed, thedisplay color is black. When the operation input has been determined assuccessive input, the marker can be displayed in a special large size.As a matter of course, the way of notification is not limited to this.For example, effect display may be used such as changing the backgroundof the musical note 20 or displaying a special character on the screen.

Description of Functional Configuration

FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functionalconfiguration example of the game device 1400 according to the presentembodiment. The game device 1400 according to the present embodimentincludes an operation input section 100, a processing section 200, asound output section 390, an image display section 392, a communicationsection 394, and a storage section 500 in a main body device 1401.

The game controller 1460 (the right game controller 1460R and the leftgame controller 1460L) includes an operation input section 100 c, anacceleration measurement section 110, an angular speed measurementsection 112, a controller processing section 200 c, a communicationsection 394 c, and a vibration section 396.

The operation input section 100 is a means for inputting variousoperations. The operation input section 100 can be implemented by aswitch, lever, dial, joystick, touch panel, trackpad, touch pad, or thelike. In the configuration of FIG. 1, the touch panel 1406 correspondsto the operation input section 100. The processing section 200 isimplemented by, for example, a processor such as a CPU or GPU andelectronic components such as an ASIC, FPGA, and IC memory. Theprocessing section 200 controls input/output of data between thefunctional sections including the operation input section 100 and thestorage section 500. The processing section 200 executes variouscalculation processes based on predetermined programs, data, andoperation input signals from the operation input section 100 and thegame controller 1460 to entirely control the operation of the gamedevice 1400. In the example of FIG. 1, the control board 1450corresponds to the processing section 200.

The processing section 200 according to the present embodiment includesa game calculation section 210, a timer section 280, a sound generationsection 290, an image generation section 292, and a communicationcontrol section 294. Note that functional sections other than these maybe included as appropriate.

The game calculation section 210 executes various processes related togame progress control. In the present embodiment, the game calculationsection 210 has an adjustment control section 212, a presentationcontrol section 214, a timing determination section 220, a typediscrimination section 230, a response output control section 232, avibration control section 234, an evaluation section 236, and anevaluation result notification control section 238.

The adjustment control section 212 performs a process related to settingof the adjustment time by which to temporally adjust the determinationof an input timing based on an operation input of the player. In thepresent embodiment, a display control related to the adjustment screenW10 and a change/setting control of the adjustment time in accordancewith various operations related to the adjustment screen correspond tothe adjustment time setting section 212 (see FIG. 10).

The presentation control section 214 performs a control to presentreference timings at which the player is supposed to perform a motion ofswinging and stopping a controller containing an inertial sensor by handand present the types of reference operations to be performed at thereference timings.

That is, the presentation control section 214 performs a control topresent the player each of the reference timings in order of arrival atwhich he/she is supposed to perform the motion of swinging and stoppingthe game controller 1460 by hand. In the present embodiment, performinga control to display the first type indicator 25 a and the second typeindicator 25 b in a flowing manner on the musical note 20 such that theindicators overlap at the standard position 24 at the reference timingcorresponds to this control (see FIG. 3).

The timing determination section 220 determines the input timing at eachreference timing by detecting that the measurement value of the inertialsensor has satisfied a given input determination condition.

Specifically, the timing determination section 220 has a premisedetermination section that determines whether the swing-down action hasbeen started successively from the swing-up action based on themeasurement value. The premise determination section determines whetherthe swing-down action has been started successively from the swing-upaction based on the acceleration in a first axis direction orthogonal tothe longitudinal direction of the game controller and the front normaldirection of the game controller. The premise determination sectiondetermines whether the swing-down action has been started successivelyfrom the swing-up action based on an angular speed around a second axiswith which the front normal direction of the game controller aligns.

When the premise determination section makes an affirmativedetermination, the timing determination section 220 detects the peak ofacceleration in the first axis measured in the swing-down action bydetecting a reversal between the increasing and decreasing tendencies ofmeasurement value, and makes a primary determination of the input timingbased on the timing of the detection. The timing determination section220 can make the primary determination on the input timing by detectingthe peak of the angular speed around the second axis. The timingdetermination section 220 finally determines a timing obtained by makingan adjustment of a preset adjustment time to the timing of the primarydetermination (the timing at which the peak was detected) as the inputtiming.

In the present embodiment, determining the input timing based on theaccelerations measured by the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475 of theright game controller 1460R and the left game controller 1460L(specifically, the accelerations along the Xl-axis and the Xr-axis) andthe angular speeds measured by the triaxial gyro sensor 1476(specifically, the angular speeds, angular speeds around the Zl-axis andthe Zr-axis (see FIGS. 5 and 6)) corresponds to this finaldetermination.

The type discrimination section 230 discriminates the type of anoperation input at an input timing based on the measurement value of theinertial sensor. In the present embodiment, discriminating which of thefirst type operation (don) and the second type operation (ka) has beeninput corresponds to this discrimination.

The type discrimination section 230 has an inheritance control section231.

The inheritance control section 231 inherits the latest discriminationresult if the measurement value of the inertial sensor satisfies a giveninheritance condition. That is, the type discrimination section 230discriminates that the latest discrimination result is the same as theprevious discrimination result.

In the present embodiment, the inheritance condition includes at leastthat the presentation of the reference timings and the types of thereference operations is the presentation of the same type of successivereference operations. In the present embodiment, the successivepresentation of pluralities of don 25 a and ka 25 b at short timeintervals and the presentation of successive don 25 c and successive ka25 d correspond to this condition. Alternatively, the former case can beexcluded.

More specifically, the inheritance condition is a condition based on anacceleration along the first axis direction (direction orthogonal to alongitudinal direction of the controller and a front normal direction ofthe controller: acceleration Ax along the X-axis in the presentembodiment) measured by the inertial sensor. That is, the inheritancecondition is set to include at least 1) after the magnitude of the firstacceleration exceeds a given first threshold, 2) the increasing anddecreasing tendencies of the first acceleration are reversed, and 3) themagnitude of the first acceleration after the reversal exceeds a givensecond threshold (see FIG. 6).

When the timing determination section 220 has determined an inputtiming, the response output control section 232 immediately performs aresponse output by sound and/or display. In the present embodiment, theresponse output is made when the input timing has been determined andthe type of the operation input has been discriminated by the typediscrimination section 230. The emission of an operation sound from thespeaker 1410 of the main body device 1401 corresponds to the responseoutput. The response output also includes a control of temporarilychanging the display mode of the evaluation result display part 27 fromthe standard mode 27 s to the notification mode 27 h and a control ofdisplaying the type notification marker 40 (see FIG. 11). The generationof input effect vibration by the vibrator 1463 of the game controller1460 also corresponds to the response output (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

The response output control section 232 also serves as a notificationcontrol section that notifies execution of an operation input satisfyingthe inheritance condition. In the present embodiment, the control ofdisplaying the type notification marker 40 in a size larger than thestandard size corresponds to this notification control section (see FIG.11).

When the premise determination section of the timing determinationsection 220 makes an affirmative determination, the vibration controlsection 234 activates the vibration device of the game controller in theswing-down action. In the present embodiment, the generation of windnoise effect vibration by the vibrator 1463 of the game controller 1460corresponds to this (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

At each reference timing, the evaluation section 236 makes an evaluationbased on a difference between the reference timing and the determinedinput timing in sequence. More specifically, the evaluation section 236makes an evaluation based on the difference between the reference timingand the input timing and on whether the discriminated input type and thestandard type are the same. In the case of the indicator of the rangepresentation type, the evaluation section 236 determines that there is amatch between the reference timing and the input timing within the timerange specified by the indicator and evaluates whether the input typeand the standard type are the same.

The evaluation result notification control section 238 performs acontrol to notify the determined evaluation result at each referencetiming. In the present embodiment, a display control of evaluationresult by the evaluation result display part 27 corresponds to this (seeFIG. 11). Further, a generation control of input effect vibration in avibration pattern or at a vibration magnitude in accordance with theevaluation result by the vibrator 1463 (the vibration device) of thegame controller 1460 corresponds to this (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

The timer section 280 uses a system clock to measure the current dateand time, a lapse time from play start, a limited time period, andothers.

The sound generation section 290 is implemented by an IC or execution ofsoftware for generating sound data or performing decoding, whichgenerates or decodes data of sounds and BGM related to gameplay. Thesound generation section 290 outputs a sound signal to the sound outputsection 390. In the present embodiment, the sound generation section 290performs a reproduction/emission control based on music data of themusic with which the gameplay is to be performed. In addition, the soundgeneration section 290 can perform a reproduction/emission control oftapping effect sounds by the type of an operation input.

The sound output section 390 emits sounds based on the input soundsignal. In the example of FIG. 1, the speaker 1410 corresponds to thesound output section 390.

The image generation section 292 can generate image data and others ofvarious display screens such as the game screen W3 (see FIG. 3). Theimage generation section 292 can output an image signal based on theimage data to the image display section 392.

The image display section 392 displays various images based on the imagesignal input from the image generation section 292. For example, theimage display section 392 can be implemented by an image display device,such as a flat panel display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a projector, ora head-mounted display. In the example of FIG. 1, the touch panel 1406corresponds to the image display section 392.

The communication control section 294 performs a data process related todata communication, and implements exchange of data with an externaldevice through the communication section 394.

The communication section 394 connects to a communication line toimplement communications. The communication line is a communicationchannel that enables data communications. Specifically, thecommunication line includes a communication network such as a local areanetwork (LAN) using a private line (private cable) for directconnection, Ethernet (registered trademark), and the like, atelecommunication network, a cable network, and the Internet. Thecommunication method may be a cable communication method or a wirelesscommunication method. Thus, the communication section 394 is implementedby a transceiver, a modem, a terminal adaptor (TA), a jack for wiredcommunication cable, a control circuit, or the like, for example. In theexample of FIG. 1, the communication module 1453 corresponds to thecommunication section 394.

The storage section 500 stores programs and various kinds of data forimplementing functions for the processing section 200 to comprehensivelycontrol the game device 1400, The storage section 500 is used as a workarea for the processing section 200, and temporarily stores the resultsof calculations performed by the processing section 200 in accordancewith various programs. This function is implemented by an IC memory suchas a RAM or a ROM, a magnetic disc such as a hard disc, an optical discsuch as a CD-ROM or a DVD, an online storage, or the like, for example.In the example of FIG. 1, the IC memory 1452 included in the controlboard 1450 corresponds to the storage section 500.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of programs and data storedin the storage section 500 according to the present embodiment. Thestorage section 500 stores in advance a game program 502 and gameinitial setting data 510. The storage section 500 also stores play data700 and current date and time 800 as data to be successively generatedand managed. Besides, the storage section 500 can store information oftimer, counter, various flags, and others as appropriate.

The game program 502 is a program that is read and executed by theprocessing section 200 to implement the function of the game calculationsection 210 (see FIG. 12). The game program 502 can include asappropriate programs for implementing functions of the timer section280, the sound generation section 290, the image generation section 292,and the communication control section 294.

The game initial setting data 510 stores various types of initialsetting data for executing the game. In the present embodiment, the gameinitial setting data 510 includes music definition data 520, an initialstandard value library 530, notification definition data 540, and aninitial adjustment time 542. Note that data other than the foregoingones can be included as appropriate.

The music definition data 520 is prepared for each music to be played inthe game and includes various types of initial setting data related tothe music. For example, one music definition data 520 includes a uniquemusic title 521, music sound data 523, and musical note definition data525 for displaying the musical note 20 (see FIG. 3). Note that dataother than the foregoing ones can be included as appropriate.

The musical note definition data 525 is basic data for displayingvarious indicators in a flowing manner on the musical note 20. The dataconfiguration may be set as appropriate. For example, combinations ofthe reference timing (for example, described as a lapse time front playstart) and the type of a reference operation (for example, the type ofthe indicators displayed in a flowing manner on the musical note 20) canbe stored on a time-series basis. Note that data other than theforegoing ones can be stored as appropriate. For example, the referenceoperations of the same type can be stored in association with thediscrimination between the required strength levels (for example,discrimination between strong and weak levels).

The initial standard value library 530 stores standard values andthresholds to be used for determination of an input timing anddiscrimination of input type of an operation input. In the presentembodiment, the library includes: a swing-up start determinationcriteria angular speed value 531 (ωm), a required momentum determinationcriteria angular speed value 532 (ωf), a swing-up start determinationcriteria coefficient 533 (k1), a confirmed determination criteriacoefficient 534 (k2), a third determination criteria value 535 (k3), afourth determination criteria value 536 (k4), a fifth determinationcriteria value 537 (k5), and a sixth determination criteria value 538(k6). Note that standard values and thresholds other than these may beincluded as appropriate.

The notification definition data 540 includes various types ofdefinition data for making notifications for informing the player ofoperation input status, game progress status, and others, and isprepared for each notification method. In the present embodiment, thenotification definition data 540 includes wind noise effect vibration(see FIGS. 5 and 6) and input effect vibration and evaluation resultnotification vibration (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The latter is prepared foreach type of operation inputs (in the present embodiment, the first typeoperation (don) and the second type operation (ka)). For each of thetypes, data defining whether to output a vibration pattern is stored inassociation with each evaluation result.

The play data 700 is prepared for each gameplay and includes variouskinds of data for implementing the play and describing the game progressstatus and others.

In the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 14, for example, theplay data 700 includes: a play music title 701 that indicates a musicselected by the player before play start; an applied adjustment time702; a lapse time 704 from play start; musical note display control data710 for controlling display on the musical note 20; measurement historydata 720 that is prepared for each game controller 1460; an idle stateflag 740 that indicates an idle state as a state waiting fordetermination of an input timing; an angular speed-used flag list 742;an acceleration-used flag list 744; a peak timing 746; anunder-inheritance flag 748; input determination history data 750; andplay performance data 760. Note that data other than the foregoing onescan be included as appropriate.

The applied adjustment time 702 includes a value of adjustment time ofan applied input timing. The applied adjustment time 702 is initializedby the initial adjustment time 542 (see FIG. 13) and is changed inaccordance with a setting operation of the adjustment time on theadjustment screen W10 (see FIG. 10).

The measurement history data 720 is prepared for each game controller1460 and includes values measured by the controller and values to beused for determination of an input timing and discrimination of type ofan operation input calculated from the measurement values on atime-series basis. In the present embodiment, the measurement historydata 720 includes: acceleration measurement history data 722 containingacceleration measurement values of the three axes; average accelerationmeasurement history data 724 containing average accelerations of thethree axes; angular speed measurement history data 726 containingangular speed measurement values of the three axes; and average angularspeed measurement history data 728 containing average angular speeds ofthe three axes. Note that data other than the foregoing ones can beincluded as appropriate.

The angular speed-used flag list 742 includes various flags to be usedfor determination of an input timing using angular speed. In the presentembodiment, the angular speed-used flag list 742 includes: anunder-determination flag indicating that the determination of an inputtiming is being performed using angular speed; a reversal flag that isset up when a reversal between the positive and negative directions ofthe angular speed ωz around the Z-axis is detected; a requirement flagthat is set up when the angular speed ωz has reached required momentum;and a peak flag that is set up when a peak of the angular speed ωz isdetected during the swing-down action.

The acceleration-used flag list 744 includes various flags to be usedfor determination of an input timing using acceleration. In the presentembodiment, the acceleration-used flag list 744 includes: anunder-determination flag indicating that the determination of an inputtiming is being performed using acceleration; a reversal flag that isset up when a reversal from the increasing tendency of the X-axisacceleration Ax is detected; a confirmation flag that is set up when itis confirmed that the player is intentionally performing the swing-downaction; and a peak flag that is set up when a peak of the accelerationAx is detected during the swing-down action.

At the type discrimination of an operation input, the under-inheritanceflag 748 indicates whether to inherit the previous type discriminationresult as the latest type discrimination result (determines that thetype of the latest operation input is the same as the type of theprevious operation input). The initial state is set to “0 (not to beexecuted or not permitted)”, and is set to “1 (to be executed orpermitted)” when the inheritance condition is satisfied. When aninheritance termination condition is satisfied, the under-inheritanceflag 748 is returned to “0”.

The input determination history data 750 is generated at eachdetermination of an input timing and discrimination of type of anoperation input and includes information indicating the results of thedetermination and discrimination. For example, one input determinationhistory data 750 includes: 1) input timing; 2) type discriminationresult; 3) information indicating whether input timing determination andtype discrimination have been performed using acceleration or angularspeed (“acceleration usage/angular speed usage” in FIG. 14); and 4) acontroller identification flag indicating of which game controller 1460the determination and discrimination results are indicated by the input.Note that data other than the foregoing ones can be stored asappropriate. For example, when the determination and type discriminationof an operation input include identification of input strength(corresponding to the strength of tapping the virtual percussioninstrument 4), the input determination history data 750 can also includeinformation on the determined strength.

Description of Operations

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a process performed by the game device 1400according to the present embodiment. The flow of the process describedherein is implemented by the processing section 200 executing the gameprogram 502. The local coordinate systems of the right and left gamecontrollers 1460 will be illustrated and described in common by anX-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis.

First, the game device 1400 starts recording of measurement values ofeach game controller 1460 (step S10), and then starts calculation andrecording of a value (average value in the present embodiment) to beused for the determination of an input timing and the typediscrimination of an operation input from the measurement values (stepS12). That is, the game device 1400 starts recording and updating of themeasurement history data 720 in steps S10 and S12 (see FIG. 14).

Then, the game device 1400 starts execution of a periodic inputdetermination process for each game controller 1460 (step S14).

FIGS. 16 and 17 are flowcharts of the input determination processaccording to the present embodiment. In the process, the game device1400 first sets the idle state flag 740 to “1” (idle state), and setsall the flags in the angular speed-used flag list 742 and theacceleration-used flag list 744 to “0” (step S28).

Next, when the under-inheritance flag 748 is not set to “1 (underexecution of inheritance)” (NO in step S30) and the absolute value ofthe angular speed ωz around the Z-axis is greater than the swing-upstart determination criteria angular speed value 531 (ωm) (YES in stepS32), the game device 1400 sets the idle state flag 740 to “0” (non-idlestate), and sets the under-determination flag in the angular speed-usedflag list 742 to “1” (under determination) (step S34). Then, the gamedevice 1400 starts the time-out counter (step S36).

Next, the game device 1400 waits for detection of a reversal betweenpositive and negative directions of the angular speed ωz around theZ-axis until the time-out counter completely counts up. Upon detectionof the reversal (YES in step S50), the game device 1400 determines thatthe player has shifted from the swing-up action to the swing-downaction, and changes the reversal flag of the angular speed-used flaglist 742 to “1” (reversed) (step S52).

Then, after the reversal, the game device 1400 waits for the absolutevalue of the angular speed ωz around the Z-axis to exceed the requiredmomentum determination criteria angular speed value 532 (ωf) until thetime-out counter completely counts up. Then, when the required momentumdetermination criteria angular speed value 532 (ωf) has been exceeded(YES in step S54), the game device 1400 sets the requirement flag in theangular speed-used flag list 742 to “1” (required momentum is reached)(step S56). The game device 1400 generates the wind noise effectvibration (step S57).

Subsequently, after the required momentum has been reached, the gamedevice 1400 further waits for detection of a peak of the angular speedωz around the Z-axis until the time-out counter completely counts up(step S58). That is, the game device 1400 calculates a temporal changein absolute value Δ|ωz|. When the absolute value becomes negative, thegame device 1400 determines that a peak has been detected (YES in stepS58), changes the peak flag in the angular speed-used flag list 742 to“1” (peak is detected) and temporarily stores the peak timing 746 (stepS60).

Then, the game device 1400 recognizes the input timing with a lapse ofthe applied adjustment time 702 from the peak timing 746 (see FIG. 14;at this stage, the initial adjustment time 542 is initialized to “0”)(step S62).

When the under-inheritance flag 748 is set to “1” and the previous inputtiming determination has been made using acceleration (YES in step S64),the game device 1400 returns the under-inheritance flag 748 to “0” (stepS66) and executes the type discrimination process (step S68).

If there have not occurred the positive-to-negative reversal, thearrival at the required momentum, and the detection of the peak untilthe time-out counter started after the detection of swing-up startcompletely counts up (NO in step S70), the game device 1400 stops thetime-out counter (step S72), returns the under-inheritance flag 748 to“0” (step S66), and returns to step S28.

On the other hand, when the under-inheritance flag 748 is set to “1”(YES in step S30) and a negative determination is made in step S32 (YESin step S32), the game device 1400 moves to the flow illustrated in FIG.17.

Focusing on a case where the under-inheritance flag 748 is set to “1”,when the measurement value satisfies the inheritance condition, the gamedevice 1400 skips steps S32 to S74. That is, the input determinationcondition related to angular speed is omitted and the input timing isdetermined under only the input determination condition related toacceleration. In other words, instead of the input determinationcondition in a case where the measurement value does not meet theinheritance condition, the input timing is determined based on a secondinput determination condition that is easier to satisfy than theforegoing input determination condition.

Specifically, when the acceleration Ax along the Xl-axis measured by thetriaxial acceleration sensor 1475 has exceeded a first thresholdobtained by adding a predetermined swing-up start determination criteriacoefficient 533 (k1) to the average acceleration Ax_ave, the game device1400 determines that the player has started the “swing-up action” (YESin step S100). In step S100, when the under-inheritance flag 748 is setto “1”, instead of the swing-up start determination criteria coefficient533 (k1), a coefficient k1′ obtained by decreasing the coefficient k1 ata predetermined ratio is applied.

When determining the start of the swing-up action, the game device 1400sets the idle state flag 740 to “0” and sets the under-determinationflag in the acceleration-used flag list 744 to “1” (step S102). Then,the game device 1400 starts the time-out counter (step S104).

When determining the start of the swing-up action, the game device 1400compares an acceleration Ax@t along the X-axis lastly measured with anacceleration Ax@t−1 in the previous measurement cycle until the time-outcounter completely counts up.

When detecting that the acceleration Ax@t along the X-axis lastlymeasured has become smaller than the acceleration Ax@t−1 in the previousmeasurement cycle, that is, when detecting a reversal between theincreasing and decreasing tendencies (YES in step S120), the game device1400 changes the reversal flag in the acceleration-used flag list 744 to“1” (reversal is detected) (step S122).

Subsequently, after the detection of the reversal from the increasingtendency, that is, after the result of the premise determination is inthe affirmative, the game device 1400 compares the acceleration Ax alongthe X-axis with a threshold obtained by adding a confirmed determinationcriteria coefficient k2 to the average acceleration Ax_ave until thetime-out counter completely counts up.

Then, when the acceleration Ax falls under the threshold (YES in stepS124), the game device 1400 confirms and determines that the player isintentionally performing the swing-down action, and changes theconfirmation flag in the acceleration-used flag list 744 to “1”(swing-down action is conformed) (step S126). Then, the game device 1400generates the wind noise effect vibration (step S128).

In step S124, when the under-inheritance flag 748 is set to “1”, insteadof the confirmed determination criteria coefficient k2, a coefficientk2′ obtained by decreasing the coefficient k2 at a predetermined ratiois applied.

Next, after the confirmation of the swing-down action, the game device1400 compares the latest acceleration Ax@t with the acceleration Ax@t−1in the previous measurement cycle until the time-out counter completelycounts up.

When the latest acceleration Ax@t becomes greater than the accelerationAx@t−1 in the previous measurement cycle (YES in step S130), the gamedevice 1400 detects a peak of measurement value appearing immediatelybefore the stop of the motion and determines that the player has startedthe damping action, and changes the peak flag in the acceleration-usedflag list 744 to “1” (peak is detected) and temporarily stores the peaktiming 746 (step S132).

Focusing on a case where the process reaches step S130 when theunder-inheritance flag 748 is set to “1”, when the measurement valuesatisfies the inheritance condition, the game device 1400 determines theinput timing as the timing at which the second input determinationcondition based on the first acceleration has been satisfied (YES instep S130) after the magnitude of the first acceleration (theacceleration Ax along the X-axis) after the reversal exceeds a givensecond threshold (YES in step S124), instead of the input determinationcondition when the inheritance condition is not satisfied (theunder-inheritance flag 748 is set to “0”).

Then, the game device 1400 recognizes the input timing with a lapse ofthe applied adjustment time 702 from the peak timing 746 (see FIG. 14;at this stage, the initial adjustment time 542 is initialized to “0”)(step S134). Then, when the under-inheritance flag 748 is set to “1” andthe previous input timing determination has been made using angularspeed (YES in step S136), the game device 1400 returns theunder-inheritance flag 748 to “0” (step S138) and executes the typediscrimination process (step S140).

If there have not occurred the reversal from the increasing tendency,the arrival at the required momentum, and the detection of the peakuntil the time-out counter started after the detection of swing-up startdue to the acceleration completely counts up (NO in step S140), the gamedevice 1400 stops the time-out counter (step S144), returns theunder-inheritance flag 748 to “0” (step S146), and returns to step S28.

Focusing on a case where the under-inheritance flag 748 is set to “1”,when the measurement value satisfies the inheritance condition, the gamedevice 1400 determines the input timing as the timing at which thesecond input determination condition based on the first acceleration hasbeen satisfied (YES in step S130) after the magnitude of the firstacceleration after the reversal exceeds a given second threshold (YES instep S124), instead of the input determination condition when theinheritance condition is not satisfied.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a type discrimination process according to thepresent embodiment.

In the process, the game device 1400 first refers to theunder-inheritance flag 748. Then, when the flag is set to “1” (YES instep S146), the game device 1400 copies the type discrimination resultstored in the latest input determination history data 750 (see FIG. 14)and sets the copy to the current type discrimination result. That is,the game device 1400 inherits the previous type discrimination result(step S148). Then, the game device 1400 terminates the typediscrimination process. That is, in a situation where it is consideredthat the player is performing successive tapping inputs, the processload on type discrimination is significantly reduced.

In the process, the game device 1400 determines whether the action of anoperation input determined this time corresponds to the ka-don pattern(see FIG. 9). Specifically, when the average acceleration Az_aveincluding the acceleration Az along the Z-axis of the peak timing 746 asthe latest measurement value has reached the sixth determinationcriteria value 538 (k6), the game device 1400 determines that the actioncorresponds to the ka-don pattern (YES in step S150) and sets the resultof the type discrimination to the first type operation (don) (stepS152).

If the action does not correspond to the ka-don pattern (NO in stepS150), the game device 1400 then determines whether the actioncorresponds to the don-ka pattern (see FIG. 7). Specifically, when theabsolute value of the angular speed ωx of the peak timing 746 hasexceeded the predetermined third determination criteria value k3 and theabsolute value of the average angular speed ωx_ave including the angularspeed ωx in the peak timing 746 as the latest measurement value hasexceeded the predetermined fourth determination criteria value k4, thegame device 1400 determines that the action corresponds to the don-kapattern (YES in step S154) and sets the result of the typediscrimination to the second type operation (ka) (step S158).

If the action corresponds to neither the ka-don pattern nor the don-kapattern (NO in step S154), the game device 1400 then determines whetherthe action corresponds to the ka-ka pattern (see FIG. 8). Specifically,when the ratio between the absolute value of the average accelerationAx_ave including the acceleration Ax of the peak timing 746 as thelatest measurement value and the absolute value of the averageacceleration Az_ave including the acceleration Az of the peak timing 746as the latest measurement value is equal to or less than thepredetermined fifth determination criteria value k5, the game device1400 determines that the action corresponds to the ka-ka pattern (YES instep S156) and sets the result of the type discrimination to the secondtype operation (ka) (step S158).

If the action corresponds to none of the ka-don pattern, the don-kapattern, and the ka-ka pattern (NO in step S156), the game device 1400sets the result of the type discrimination to the first type operation(don) (step S160).

When the result of the type discrimination is obtained, the game device1400 determines whether the standard type to be evaluated corresponds tosuccessive arrangement or successive tapping (step S170), In the presentembodiment, referring to the musical note definition data 525 (see FIG.13), the game device 1400 makes an affirmative determination when apredetermined number of successive requirements or more are successivelypresented at short time intervals of a predetermined standard value orless before and after the don 25 a or the ka 25 b that is the standardtype to be evaluated. The game device 1400 makes an affirmativedetermination when the standard types to be evaluated are the successivedon 25 c and the successive ka 25 d (see FIG. 4).

In the case of making an affirmative determination (YES in step S170),when the latest input timing determination has been made usingacceleration (YES in step S172), the game device 1400 then determinesthat the player is performing successive inputs with satisfaction of theinheritance condition, sets the under-inheritance flag 748 to “1” (stepS174), and terminates the type discrimination process.

On the other hand, when the standard type to be evaluated does notcorrespond to the successive arrangement or the successive tapping (NOin step S170) or when the latest input timing determination has beenmade using angular speed (NO in step S172), the game device 1400determines that the player is not performing successive tapping, setsthe under-inheritance flag 748 to “0” (step S176), and terminates thetype discrimination process.

Returning to FIG. 15, in step S14, the execution of the periodic inputdetermination process by each game controller is started to prepare thegame controller 1460.

Next, the game device 1400 executes an adjustment time setting process(step S180). That is, the game device 1400 causes the touch panel 1406to display the adjustment screen W10 (see FIG. 10) so that the playersets the adjustment time so as not to feel a discomfort in an outputtime difference of a response sound from an operation input. The gamedevice 1400 updates the applied adjustment time 702 by this result.

Then, the game device 1400 accepts a selection of music to be played(play music) (step S182), and starts a game progress control (stepS184). Accordingly, the sound of the play music is emitted from thespeaker 1410, and in synchronization with this, the game screen W3 (seeFIG. 3) is displayed on the touch panel 1406.

The game device 1400 also starts the evaluation of an operation inputand the notification control of the evaluation (for example,notification display of the type discrimination result (see FIG. 11)),the response output in accordance with an operation input (for example,the emission of an operation input sound), a vibration control inaccordance with an operation input (for example, the wind noise effectvibration (see FIGS. 5 and 6) and the input effect vibration (see FIGS.5 and 6)), and others. In particular, in the present embodiment,changing the display size of the type notification marker 40 as one ofnotification displays plays the role of notifying that the operationinput substantially satisfying the inheritance condition is beingperformed (see FIG. 11).

The input determination is already executed so that preparations foroperation inputs by the game controller 1460 are made in step S14. Theplayer can play the music game by performing operation inputs by thegame controller 1460 in tune with the reference operations at thepresented reference timings while listening the play music and watchingthe musical note 20 on the game screen W3.

At the end of the gameplay (step S186), the game device 1400 displaysthe play performance (step S188) and terminates the series of processes.

According to the present embodiment described above, it is possible toimplement a technique for a game device including a game controller withan acceleration sensor as an inertial sensor and a gyro sensor to, atexecution of a game at which the action of swinging and stopping thegame controller in the air is regarded as an operation input, determineusing measurement values of the inertial sensor that the player hasperformed an operation input timing at the timing at which he/she feelshe/she has performed the operation input.

Further, in the operation input determination when the referenceoperation requiring successive inputs is presented, when a change inacceleration measured by the inertial sensor of the game controller 1460appears at successive vertical movement of the controller, the gamedevice 1400 recognizes that the inheritance condition is satisfied andreduces the process load by limiting the operation input determinationto determination based on the change in acceleration, and simplifies theprocess of type discrimination of the operation input throughinheritance of the previous discrimination result to further reduce theprocess load.

Specifically, when YES in step S30 illustrated in FIG. 16, the gamedevice 1400 skips steps S132 to S74 to reduce the process load of theinput timing determination, and skips steps S150 to S160 illustrated inFIG. 18 to reduce the process load of the type discrimination process.Therefore, it is possible to avoid a lack of a margin for process loadand prevent a decrease in resolution of type discrimination ofsuccessive operation inputs in a short time.

Modification Examples

The embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied has beendescribed so far. However, the modes to which the present disclosure isapplicable are not limited to the foregoing embodiment but thecomponents can be added, omitted, or changed as appropriate.

For example, a game executable on a stand-alone basis is taken in theforegoing embodiment. However, the present disclosure is not limited tothis. Like the game controller 1460 according to the foregoingembodiment, a computer including the triaxial acceleration sensor 1475and the triaxial gyro sensor 1476 in a controller section can be used asa player terminal so that online games can be played with access to gameservers. In that case, the game calculation section 210 (see FIG. 12)according to the embodiment can be implemented by a game server.

The relative relationship between the game controller 1460 and themeasurement axes of the sensors included in the game controller 1460 isnot limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 but can be changed asappropriate.

In the foregoing embodiment, the types of operation inputs are two: thefirst type operation (don) and the second type operation (ka). However,the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the firsttype operation and the second type operation can have different strengthlevels of swinging of the game controller. The stages of the strengthlevels can be set as appropriate. If two stages are provided, the gamecan have total four types of operation inputs. In this case, it isnecessary to prepare four types of indicators that are to be displayedon the musical note 20. In addition, the type discrimination section 230(see FIG. 12) needs to discriminate the strength level of input motionby comparing the measurement value at the time of input determination,for example, the magnitude of the acceleration or the magnitude of theangular speed in the peak timing 746 with a predetermined threshold.That is, the type discrimination section 230 is caused to serve also as“strength level discrimination section”.

In the foregoing embodiment, a music game requiring short latency andquick response is taken as an example. However, the present disclosureis also applicable to games of other genres. For example, the presentdisclosure is suitable for games where virtual hitting objects appearsuch as a virtual whack-a-mole game.

Depending on the game content, either the triaxial acceleration sensor1475 or the triaxial gyro sensor 1476 can be omitted from the gamecontroller 1460 so that the input determination is limited to the inputdetermination based on acceleration or the input determination based onangular speed. In addition, depending on the game content, when theinput timing is determined, either response output by sound or responseoutput by display can be omitted.

The foregoing embodiment can be additionally configured to allow theplayer to select the degree of leniency/severity (stringency) ofdetermination of successive inputs. In other words, the adjustmentcontrol section 212 can have an additional function of making the firstthreshold and the second threshold adjustable based on an operationinput of the player.

For example, successively from step S180 (see FIG. 15), a setting screenW19 as illustrated in FIG. 19 can be displayed to accept the player'sselection of the degree of leniency/severity. The setting screen W19includes instructions 42 for setting, a setting operation part 44 thataccepts an operation of setting the degree of leniency/severity ofdetermination of successive inputs, and operation icons 46 (46 a, 46 b,. . . ).

As illustrated in FIG. 20, the play data 700 is provided with an appliedstandard value library 730 to store the results of setting at thesetting operation part 44. The applied standard value library 730 storesvarious standard values that are actually applied to input timingdetermination and type discrimination. Specifically, before the start ofthe game, the initial standard value library 530 (see FIG. 13) is copiedto the applied standard Value library 730 that stores a swing-up startdetermination criteria angular speed value 731 to a sixth determinationcriteria value 738. In accordance with the result accepted by thesetting operation part 44, among the copied standard values, theswing-up determination criteria coefficient k1 and the confirmeddetermination criteria coefficient k2 are changed.

Alternatively, a coefficient k1′ to be applied instead of the swing-upstart determination criteria coefficient 533 (k1) when theunder-inheritance flag 748 is set to “1” in step S100 and a coefficientk2′ to be applied instead of the confirmed determination criteriacoefficient k2 when the under-inheritance flag 748 is set to “1” in stepS124 are set as individual data to the initial standard value library530. Then, these values copied to the applied standard value library 730may be changed in accordance with the result accepted by the settingoperation part 44.

Although only some embodiments of the present disclosure have beendescribed in detail above, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that many modifications are possible in the embodimentswithout materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages ofthis disclosure. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to beincluded within scope of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer device comprising: at least oneprocessor or circuit programmed to perform: presenting a referencetiming and a type of a reference operation to be performed at thereference timing, the reference timing being a timing at which a playeris supposed to perform a motion of swinging and stopping a controllercontaining an inertial sensor; determining an input timing by detectingthat a measurement value of the inertial sensor has satisfied a giveninput determination condition; and discriminating a type of an operationinput at the input timing based on the measurement value, wherein thediscriminating the type of the operation input includes inheriting thetype of an operation input previously discriminated when the measurementvalue satisfies a given inheritance condition, wherein the controllerhas a plurality of operation buttons arranged on a front side and has alongitudinal shape that is capable of being gripped and held by onehand, the inertial sensor measures at least a first acceleration along afirst axis in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of thecontroller and a front normal direction of the controller, and theinheritance condition includes at least a condition based on the firstacceleration, wherein the inheritance condition includes at least acondition that, after magnitude of the first acceleration exceeds agiven first threshold, increasing and decreasing tendencies of the firstacceleration are reversed, and the magnitude of the first accelerationafter the reversal exceeds a given second threshold.
 2. The computerdevice as defined in claim 1, wherein the inheritance condition includesat least a condition that same type of the successive referenceoperations are presented.
 3. The computer device as defined in claim 1,wherein the presenting includes presenting the reference timing as aninstantaneous timing or a time range, and the inheritance conditionincludes at least a condition that the reference timing is presented asthe time range.
 4. The computer device as defined in claim 1, whereinthe inertial sensor measures, besides the first acceleration, athree-dimensional acceleration by measuring an acceleration in thelongitudinal direction of the controller and an acceleration in thefront normal direction of the controller, the first threshold is athreshold based on an average of magnitudes of the three-dimensionalacceleration for a predetermined past time, and the second threshold isa threshold based on an average of magnitudes of the three-dimensionalacceleration for a predetermined past time.
 5. The computer device asdefined in claim 1, comprising at least one processor or circuit furtherprogrammed to perform adjusting the first threshold and/or the secondthreshold based on an operation input of the player.
 6. The computerdevice as defined in claim 1, wherein determining the input timingincludes determining the input timing based on, instead of the inputdetermination condition, a second input determination condition that iseasier to satisfy than the input determination condition when themeasurement value satisfies the inheritance condition.
 7. The computerdevice as defined in claim 1, wherein the determining the input timingincludes determining a timing at which, instead of the inputdetermination condition, a third input determination condition based onthe first acceleration is satisfied as the input timing when themeasurement value satisfies the inheritance condition.
 8. The computerdevice as defined in claim 7, wherein the third input determinationcondition is a condition that the magnitudes of the first accelerationfor a predetermined past time show a decreasing tendency.
 9. Thecomputer device as defined in claim 1, comprising at least one processoror circuit further programmed to perform notifying that an operationinput satisfying the inheritance condition is being performed.
 10. Acomputer device comprising: at least one processor or circuit programmedto perform: presenting a reference timing and a type of a referenceoperation to be performed at the reference timing, the reference timingbeing a timing at which a player is supposed to perform a motion ofswinging and stopping a controller containing an inertial sensor;determining an input timing by detecting that a measurement value of theinertial sensor has satisfied a given input determination condition; anddiscriminating a type of an operation input at the input timing based onthe measurement value, wherein the discriminating the type of theoperation input includes inheriting the type of an operation inputpreviously discriminated when the measurement value satisfies a giveninheritance condition, wherein the controller has a plurality ofoperation buttons arranged on a front side and has a longitudinal shapethat is capable of being gripped and held by one hand, the inertialsensor measures at least a first acceleration along a first axis in adirection orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the controller and afront normal direction of the controller, and the inheritance conditionincludes at least a condition based on the first acceleration, whereinthe determining the input timing includes determining a timing at which,instead of the input determination condition, a third inputdetermination condition based on the first acceleration is satisfied asthe input timing when the measurement value satisfies the inheritancecondition.
 11. The computer device as defined in claim 10, wherein thethird input determination condition is a condition that the magnitudesof the first acceleration for a predetermined past time show adecreasing tendency.
 12. An evaluation control method executed by acomputer device, the method comprising: presenting a reference timingand a type of a reference operation to be performed at the referencetiming, the reference timing being a timing at which a player issupposed to perform a motion of swinging and stopping a controllercontaining an inertial sensor; determining an input timing by detectingthat a measurement value of the inertial sensor has satisfied a giveninput determination condition; and discriminating a type of an operationinput at the input timing based on the measurement value, wherein thediscriminating the type of the operation input includes inheriting thetype of an operation input previously discriminated when the measurementvalue satisfies a given inheritance condition, wherein the controllerhas a plurality of operation buttons arranged on a front side and has alongitudinal shape that is capable of being gripped and held by onehand, the inertial sensor measures at least a first acceleration along afirst axis in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of thecontroller and a front normal direction of the controller, and theinheritance condition includes at least a condition based on the firstacceleration, wherein the inheritance condition includes at least acondition that, after magnitude of the first acceleration exceeds agiven first threshold, increasing and decreasing tendencies of the firstacceleration are reversed, and the magnitude of the first accelerationafter the reversal exceeds a given second threshold.
 13. The evaluationcontrol method as defined in claim 12, wherein the inheritance conditionincludes at least a condition that same type of the successive referenceoperations are presented.
 14. The evaluation control method as definedin claim 12, wherein the presenting includes presenting the referencetiming as an instantaneous timing or a time range, and the inheritancecondition includes at least a condition that the reference timing ispresented as the time range.
 15. The evaluation control method asdefined in claim 12, wherein the inertial sensor measures, besides thefirst acceleration, a three-dimensional acceleration by measuring anacceleration in the longitudinal direction of the controller and anacceleration in the front normal direction of the controller, the firstthreshold is a threshold based on an average of magnitudes of thethree-dimensional acceleration for a predetermined past time, and thesecond threshold is a threshold based on an average of magnitudes of thethree-dimensional acceleration for a predetermined past time.
 16. Theevaluation control method as defined in claim 12, further comprisingadjusting the first threshold and/or the second threshold based on anoperation input of the player.
 17. The evaluation control method asdefined in claim 12, wherein determining the input timing includesdetermining the input timing based on, instead of the inputdetermination condition, a second input determination condition that iseasier to satisfy than the input determination condition when themeasurement value satisfies the inheritance condition.
 18. An evaluationcontrol method executed by a computer device, the method comprising:presenting a reference timing and a type of a reference operation to beperformed at the reference timing, the reference timing being a timingat which a player is supposed to perform a motion of swinging andstopping a controller containing an inertial sensor; determining aninput timing by detecting that a measurement value of the inertialsensor has satisfied a given input determination condition; anddiscriminating a type of an operation input at the input timing based onthe measurement value, wherein the discriminating the type of theoperation input includes inheriting the type of an operation inputpreviously discriminated when the measurement value satisfies a giveninheritance condition, wherein the controller has a plurality ofoperation buttons arranged on a front side and has a longitudinal shapethat is capable of being gripped and held by one hand, the inertialsensor measures at least a first acceleration along a first axis in adirection orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the controller and afront normal direction of the controller, and the inheritance conditionincludes at least a condition based on the first acceleration, whereinthe determining the input timing includes determining a timing at which,instead of the input determination condition, a third inputdetermination condition based on the first acceleration is satisfied asthe input timing when the measurement value satisfies the inheritancecondition.
 19. A computer device comprising: at least one processor orcircuit programmed to perform: presenting, to a player, a referencetiming and a type of a reference operation to be performed at thereference timing, the reference timing being a timing at which a playeris supposed to perform a motion of swinging and stopping a controllercontaining an inertial sensor, the motion corresponding to a playeroperation that simulates tapping a virtual body to simulate a soundeffect; determining an input timing by detecting that a measurementvalue of the inertial sensor has satisfied a given input determinationcondition; and discriminating a type of an operation input at the inputtiming based on the measurement value, wherein the discriminating thetype of the operation input includes inheriting the type of an operationinput previously discriminated when the measurement value satisfies agiven inheritance condition.
 20. An evaluation control method executedby a computer device, the method comprising: presenting, to a player, areference timing and a type of a reference operation to be performed atthe reference timing, the reference timing being a timing at which aplayer is supposed to perform a motion of swinging and stopping acontroller containing an inertial sensor, the motion corresponding to aplayer operation that simulates tapping a virtual body to simulate asound effect; determining an input timing by detecting that ameasurement value of the inertial sensor has satisfied a given inputdetermination condition; and discriminating a type of an operation inputat the input timing based on the measurement value, wherein thediscriminating the type of the operation input includes inheriting thetype of an operation input previously discriminated when the measurementvalue satisfies a given inheritance condition.